In Vishki I met Vladislav who was born in 1828 and who remembers the killings.He shown me little ironshoes(don't know the word) and gave them to me.(Bruce I'll gave you one).There was a shoe maker across the street where the synagogue was.Ostrov forest"Tragedy of Vishki Jews started in July 1941, when those involved in the local commanding centre started to recruit locals to identify and eventually bring together all Jews.Ostrov Wood by the Vishki Lake was being prepared for the bloody operation, it was announced to the locals that Jews will be shot there, machine-guns were being installed.Vishki District became a closed zone, all the Jews were taken to Ostrov.Suddenly, an order came to call off the operation. Jews came back to their homes to prepare for transfer to Daugavpils Ghetto, where all the Jews had to arrive by July 26 1941."from Eleonora Petrovna's bookOstrov forest

The sky is still white but I am so happy to be here.Le ciel est encore blanc mais je suis si heureuse d'etre ici.

*********I met Eleonora Petrovna who wrote a book about Vishki.She gave me the book..The book seems interesting but it's writen in latvian.She explained that the Vishki Jewish cemetery was filled with graves after the war but the Soviets(or Latvian people)stole the stones to built the roads etc...as they did in Daugavpils.They distroyed the entire cemetery there and now people are buried in the hudge(all religions)cemetery on the road to Rezekne,by the way to Vishki.J'ai rencontré Eleonora Petrovna qui est un professeur a la retraite et qui a ecrit un livre sur Vishki.Elle a expliqué que le cimetiere de Vishki etait rempli de tombe jusqu'au portail mais les soviets ont volé les tombes pour construire les routes etc..Ils ont fait la meme chose a Daugavpils et maintenant les Juifs sont enterre dans l'immense cimetiere de toutes religions a la sortie de Daugavpils sur la route de Rezekne,c.a.d sur la route de Vishki.

Catherine 1ere,la femme de Pierre le Grand est née a Vishki pres de la gare actuelle et construite en 1860 et quelques,d'apres Eleonora.Je suppose que mon Grand pere a pris le train dans cette gare quand il est parti pour la guerre en 1914.Tres emouvantCatherine the first,according to Eleonora and other sources was born in Vishki near the railway station built in about 1860.I suppose that my Grand father took the train in this station when he went to fight in 1914.Very moving.The Vishki railway stationCatherineII dite la Grande Catherine de Russie est passée a vishki et cette eglise orthodoxe ci dessous a environ un mile de Vishki sur la route de Kraslava a ete construite en son honneur.Catherine II,called Catherine the Great went through Vishki and this orthodox church below situated about one mile from Vishki on the road to Kraslava was built to honour her.

Je suis allée a Daugavpils voir Galia et Boris Koltun.Quel plaisir d'etre avec eux!Ils m'ont invitée a dejeuner au restaurant a nouveau.I drove to Daugavpils to meet Galia and Boris Koltun.What a pleasure to be with them.They invited me in a restaurant again and again I loved the food.En face du restaurant il y a une jolie eglise orthodoxe.Across the street there is a beautiful orthodox church.

In the garden of all the houses in Vishki there is a bania(little wood cabins for bath.Kind of sauna)Dans le jardin de toutes les maisons il y a un bania(sorte de petites isbas en bois qui sert de sauna)Bania at Sonia's house

Inside of the bania

Svetlana,Nina and Dima's daughter.She gave me a tapestry,that she made.An isba in a russian paysage.

Maintenant voici ou je vis,dans la guest house de Janis Kudins,maire de Vishki et de Spogi.La fenetre ouverte est ma chambre.Now here is where I live,in Janis Kudins's guest house.He is the mayor of Vishki and Spogi.The opened window is my bedroom.